couchant

• POS: Adjective
• HYPHEN: couch=ant

CIDE DICTIONARY

couchant, a. [F., p. pr. of coucher. See Couch, v. t.].

•  Lying down with head erect; squatting.  [1913 Webster]
•  Lying down with the head raised, which distinguishes the posture of couchant from that of dormant, or sleeping; -- said of a lion or other beast.  [1913 Webster]

Couchant and levant (Law), rising up and lying down; -- said of beasts, and indicating that they have been long enough on land, not belonging to their owner, to lie down and rise up to feed, -- such time being held to include a day and night at the least. Blackstone.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

couchant, adj. (placed after noun) Heraldry (of an animal) lying with the body resting on the legs and the head raised.

Etymology

F, pres. part. of coucher: see COUCH(1)

THESAURUS

couchant

accumbent, couche, crawling, crouched, debased, decumbent, depressed, draped, flat, groveling, knee-high, knocked flat, laid low, lolling, lounging, low, low-built, low-hung, low-level, low-leveled, low-lying, low-set, low-statured, lying, neap, procumbent, prone, prostrate, reclining, recumbent, reposing, resupine, runty, short, sprawled, sprawling, spread, squat, squatty, stooped, stumpy, supine, unelevated

ROGET THESAURUS

couchant

Horizontality

N horizontality, flatness, level, plane, stratum, dead level, dead flat, level plane, recumbency, lying down, reclination, decumbence, decumbency, discumbency, proneness, accubation, supination, resupination, prostration, azimuth, plain, floor, platform, bowling green, cricket ground, croquet ground, croquet lawn, billiard table, terrace, estrade, esplanade, parterre, table land, plateau, ledge, butte, mesa (plain), level, spirit level, horizontal, level, even, plane, flat, flat as a billiard table, flat as a bowling green, alluvial, calm, calm as a mill pond, smooth, smooth as glass, recumbent, decumbent, procumbent, accumbent, lying, prone, supine, couchant, jacent, prostrate, recubant, horizontally, on one's back, on all fours, on its beam ends.